Such a method is discussed, for example, in Frankfurter Zeituno: View of the Economy, publisher Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Vol. 27, No. 23, Feb. 1, 1984, page 5 or in Machine Design, Vol. 55, No. 25, Oct. 10, 1983, page 8.
Amorphous metals or metallic glasses are generally known. See, for instance, Zeitschrift Fuer Metallkunde, Vol. 69, 1978, No. 4, pages 212 to 220 or Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Vol. 97, September 1980, No. 9, pages 378 to 385. In general, these materials are special alloys which can be produced by means of special processes from at least two predetermined starting elements or compounds called alloying components. These special alloys have a glasslike amorphous structure instead of a crystalline structure. Amorphous metal alloys have a number of extraordinary properties or property combinations such as high wear and corrosion resistance, high hardness and tensile strength and at the same time have high ductility as well as special magnetic properties. Furthermore, microcrystalline materials with interesting properties can be prepared via the detour of the amorphous state. See, for instance, German Pat. No. 28 34 425.
To date, metallic glasses have been prepared by rapid quenching from the molten state. See also DE-OS No. 31 35 374 or No. 31 28 063. This method, however, leads to the situation that at least one dimension of the material produced is smaller than about 0.1 mm. However, it would be desirable for various applications if metallic glasses were available in any shapes and dimensions whatever.
It has further been proposed to produce metallic glasses by a special solid-state reaction instead of by rapid quenching. In the solid-state reaction, one of the alloy components must diffuse quickly into the other below the crystallization temperature of the metallic glass to be produced, while the other component remains practically immovable. Such a diffusion reaction is generally referred to as an anomalous rapid diffusion. Certain energy-wise conditions must be met. See, for example, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 51, No. 5, August 1983, pages 415 to 418, or Journal of NonCrystalline Solids, Vols. 61 and 62, 1984, pages 817 to 822. Thus, the alloy components must react with each other exothermally. Furthermore, a definite microstructure is required because the participating alloy components are closely adjacent and have, at least in one dimension, very small dimensions extending less than 1 .mu.m. Accordingly, layered structures are especially suitable which can be produced, for instance, by vapor deposition. See, for instance, the previously cited literature references from Phys. Rev. Letters, Vol. 51. The stacking of thin metal foils is also possible for this purpose. See, for instance, Proc. MRS Europe Meeting on Amorphous Metals and Non-Equilibrium Processing, publisher M. P. von Allen, Strasbourg, 1984, pages 135 to 140. In addition, a similar stratified structure can also be obtained by the method which is discussed in the publication View of the Economy, herebefore cited. According to this method, suitable metal powders of the desired composition are first mixed as alloy components and are then compacted to form an intermediate product. This intermediate product, in which the alloy components have a size of at most 1 .mu.m in at least one dimension, is subsequently converted into the desired metallic body with an amorphous structure by anomalous rapid diffusion at a predetermined elevated temperature.
Whereas with the vapor deposition method, only very thin structures can be obtained, the two deformation methods mentioned assume a high ductility of the participating alloy components. In addition, difficulties arise with the prior art method when alloy components are in the powder form at the start. Oxide layers on the surface of the metal powders must be removed by the deformation and the structure resulting from the compacting and deformation is very irregular. If one considers, in addition, alloys of technical interest, it is found that frequently one of the alloy components is practically undeformable such as boron in FeNiB or cobalt in CoZr. Furthermore, some components are not obtainable in foil form or only at a high price such as the rare earth metals used for amorphous transition metal/rare earth compounds.